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BUSINESS
Jul 8, 2008

NEC buys Hungarian wireless firm

NEC Corp. said Monday it has bought Hungarian communications-engineering company Linecom Kft. to expand operations in Eastern Europe.
EDITORIALS
Jul 7, 2008

Access to public documents

An expert panel's interim report on strengthening the system to manage official documents has been submitted to Population and Gender Equality Issues Minister Yoko Kamikawa, who also serves as state minister in charge of improving the custodianship of such documents.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 26, 2008

The soul of the samurai on show

Referred to as the soul of the samurai, the Japanese sword is a wonderful blend of elegance and power, artistry and craft.
EDITORIALS
Jun 14, 2008

Prepare for the worst

An expert panel of the government's Central Disaster Prevention Council recently projected that a major earthquake in the Kinki and Chubu region occurring at noon in winter would cause economic damage of ¥74 trillion and ¥33 trillion, respectively. Such an earthquake would shred heavily used traffic...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Jun 8, 2008

In the land of pimped push bikes

It would be hard not to notice that Japan's streets are jammed with fixed-gear bikes. As reported here in December, these are simple, stripped-down bikes originally built for racing around velodromes; the single gear is locked to the back wheel, so the pedals keep turning when the bike is moving. But...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / FUZZY LOGIC
Jun 6, 2008

Monster mash

Explosion, the livehouse in Kagurazaka, central Tokyo, must have been named with nights like this in mind. Billy Trash, who's covered in blood, has discarded his double bass and stripped to his tiny, gonad-garroting Batman underpants. He charges into the crowd, pouring water over his head, then smothers...
Reader Mail
Jun 1, 2008

Power of trees underestimated

I still think the answer to carbon dioxide is in trees. It seems to me that the best way to combat the problem is not only to impose restrictions on CO2 producing factors such as industry and traffic, but also to increase the acreage of land used for forests as a permanent means of CO2 storage as well...
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: DESIGN
May 27, 2008

Toothpaste tube chandeliers, eco-seats and other design highlights

A toothy light
COMMENTARY
May 26, 2008

Second wind for cigarette sales

At the initiative of the Finance Ministry, the government has introduced a system to verify the age of anyone using a cigarette vending machine. But the system reportedly is not widely used.
BUSINESS
May 14, 2008

Japan orders TCI to drop J-Power stake bid

Citing energy security risks, the government on Tuesday ordered The Children's Investment Fund, a British hedge fund, to drop a bid to raise its 9.9 percent stake in Electric Power Development Co. to 20 percent.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 1, 2008

LDP gets drivers' ire for gas hikes

Angry motorists swiftly slammed the government's decision Wednesday to reinstate provisional extra tax rates on gasoline, with some calling the imminent price hike a "terrible act" and others criticizing Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda for his strong-arm political tactics.
Japan Times
LIFE
Apr 27, 2008

Bestowing beauty on a fearful blade

If you were to call 51-year-old Yoshihiko Usuki a makeover maestro, he'd probably just chuckle, go back to his hunched position and continue sliding the sword clasped in his hands over a polishing stone.
BUSINESS
Apr 26, 2008

TCI defies Japan's request to drop attempt to expand J-Power stake

The Children's Investment Fund (TCI) defied a government request Friday to drop its bid to raise its 9.9 percent stake in Electric Power Development Co., known as J-Power, to 20 percent.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 19, 2008

Wanted: good home for old icebreaker

ABOARD THE SHIRASE — Old soldiers may just fade away, but it is a fate far better, some feel, than what awaits the Maritime Self-Defense Force's icebreaker Shirase, which is headed for the scrap heap after 25 years of hard service.
EDITORIALS
Apr 18, 2008

Safety comes first at nuclear plants

The Atomic Energy Commission's white paper on nuclear power for 2007 that has been adopted by the government says that a worldwide increase in nuclear-power generation is indispensable to fighting global warming. This is in line with the government's call for halving CO・emissions by 2050. But promoting...
JAPAN
Apr 11, 2008

Dalai Lama reiterates support for games, urges nonviolence

NARITA, Chiba Pref. — The Dalai Lama on Thursday again voiced support for China's hosting of the Olympic Games and called on protesters to stick to nonviolent activities during the chaotic round-the-world torch relay.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Apr 1, 2008

BOJ finds itself in 'unpresidented' state

The divided Diet has left the Bank of Japan with a vacant seat at the top for the first time since the war. This came about after Toshihiko Fukui's five-year term ended in mid-March and the government's nominees to succeed him were vetoed.
JAPAN
Apr 1, 2008

Cost at pump to drop until April-end vote

Gasoline prices are set to fall by ¥25 per liter after the ruling bloc and opposition camp failed to agree Monday on extending provisional extra levies on gas and other auto-related taxes.
BUSINESS
Mar 28, 2008

ANA gives Mitsubishi lift with plane order

All Nippon Airways Co. said Thursday it plans to order up to 25 small passenger jets from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., becoming the leadoff buyer of what would be Japan's first domestically developed jetliner.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 18, 2008

Figuring out 'cleaning fees'

Years ago, when a friend of mine was preparing to move back home to Los Angeles, I helped her clean her rented studio apartment in Tokyo. Shoving aside a pile of books, clothes and various other kinds of clutter, we wiped the wood floor, scrubbed the bathtub and polished the kitchen sink. We spent almost...
BUSINESS
Mar 14, 2008

Toyota faults laid to rapid global growth

Toyota's president acknowledged the company's rapid global growth was partly behind various problems that have plagued the Japanese automaker in recent years.
EDITORIALS
Mar 11, 2008

A frozen Garden of Eden

They call it the "doomsday vault," but it is intended to save humankind, not menace it. The Svalbard Global Seed Vault, which opened Feb. 26 in Norway, will serve as a repository for billions of seeds. It is designed to protect biodiversity and the people and cultures that depend on it. It is one of...

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?